James Shulman discusses his new book The Synthetic University

US colleges and universities have long been the envy of the world. Institutional autonomy has fostered creativity among faculty, students, and staff. But this autonomy means that colleges tend to create their own solutions for every need. As a result, higher education suffers from costly redundancies that drive tuitions ever upward, putting higher education, essential[read more...]

Melissa Newman presents her book Head Over Heels

Their love story is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman became not only movie stars and stage actors, but also artistic collaborators, political activists, and philanthropists whose legacies are expansive and enduringly modern. These striking images--many rare and some never before published--are accompanied by snapshots, letters, handwritten notes, and family treasures.[read more...]

Julian Tepper reads from his latest novel Cooler Heads

Julian Tepper's fourth novel, Cooler Heads, is a story about modern love. With a triangulation of lovers and spouses, young children and careers struggling to get off the ground, in Celia and Paul we encounter two people in that pocket of life when the fight to figure out who we are and what we want burns[read more...]

E.L. Shen in conversation about her new book Maybe It’s a Sign

Seventh-grader Freya June Sun has always believed in the Chinese superstitions spoon-fed to her since birth. Ever since her dad's death a year ago, she's become obsessed with them, and believes that her father is sending her messages from beyond. Like how, on her way to an orchestra concert where she's dreading her viola solo,[read more...]

Roxana Robinson reads from her upcoming novel Leaving

Leaving charts a passage through loyalty and desire as it builds to a shattering conclusion. In her boldest and most powerful work to date, Roxana Robinson demonstrates her “trademark gifts as an intelligent, sensitive analyst of family life” (Wendy Smith, Chicago Tribune) in an engrossing exploration of the vows we make to one another, the tensile relationships[read more...]

Clare McHugh reads from her latest novel, The Romanov Brides

From the author of A Most English Princess comes The Romanov Brides, a moving and fascinating portrait of two bold and spirited royal sisters, bringing imperial Russia to vivid life—a dazzling, decadent world on the brink of disappearing forever.